The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced a partnership between Ghana and Google to introduce artificial intelligence tools developed specifically for Ghanaian local languages, a move he says will strengthen Ghana’s position as a leading AI hub on the continent.
According to the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, the initiative forms part of broader efforts to improve the quality of education in Ghana and across Africa.
In a post shared on his Facebook page on January 23, the education minister said,
“Yesterday, I had a fruitful engagement with the Vice President of Google in the ongoing Generative AI summit in the United Kingdom, where ideas were shared to improve quality Education in Ghana and Africa as a whole.”
“In July 2025, Google announced a US$37 million investment in AI research and digital skills development across Africa, including the launch of a new AI Community Center in Accra. This forms part of Google’s broader US$1 billion commitment to Africa’s digital transformation and firmly positions Ghana as a key hub in this journey.”
The minister added that Google is already working with Ghanaian institutions to develop local language based AI tools aimed at improving accessibility in education and digital services.
“Google is working closely with the University of Ghana and GDI Hub to advance speech recognition and AI tools for Ghanaian languages, including Twi, Ewe, and Dagbani, with a strong focus on non-standard speech to improve accessibility in education and digital services.”
Haruna Iddrisu said he expressed the need to expand the language scope to include Hausa, which is widely spoken across Ghana and parts of Africa.
“During our engagement, I emphasised the importance of including Hausa, a language spoken widely across Ghana and West Africa. Integrating Hausa will deepen regional inclusion and further strengthen Ghana’s leadership as an AI innovation hub on the continent.”
He also disclosed that Google has assured that its education tools will be made available in Ghana for free oron a zero-rated basis to ensure access to all.
“I am also pleased to share that I received firm assurance from Google’s Director of Operations for Africa and the Gemini lead that Google’s education tools will be deployed in Ghana on a zero-rated basis. This includes curriculum-aligned content and resources on the responsible use of AI in teaching and learning, ensuring access for all learners regardless of location or income.”
“Ghana is not just participating in the AI revolution, we are helping to shape it for Africa,” Haruna Iddrisu added.
